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There has been a record-breaking amount of sun lately… 3 days in a row! I can hardly believe it. What has gotten in to Paris?!?

It is beginning to stay later longer and I have the feeling Spring is just around the corner. I had almost forgotten how beautiful this city is in the sunlight… I know this is all one of Paris’s sneaky tricks and spring is much further away than I think but I like to pretend that maybe sometime soon the forecast will have temperatures all in the positives. I cannot wait to picnic or leave the house without four layers of clothes on. I like the seasons but it is time to move on. I want to see the blossoming flowers and take walks along the Seine.

I want my favorite Paris to come back. It is like I have missed an old friend.

I find my self looking forward to each season. Paris has many sides to it and honestly I can find beauty in every one. I never really had this feeling before as I never really lived anywhere with seasons, but I find myself pleased to bundle up and wear my winter clothes.I actually think it will be strange to go back home to a much warmer climate… good but weird.

Paris inspires me. I think that is one of the reasons I have grown so attached to it. Everyday I find something new to fall in love with. I love the challenge of learning a language that not even natives aren’t fluent in (this seems to be what every French person tells me when I stumble on my words). Although I have lived here over a year, I still never lose the sense that I have so much more to explore and experience. As much as I miss my family and as difficult as it is that there is an ocean between us, I can’t seem to break away from this life. I wish I could move them all out here with me. 🙂

Speaking of family–I leave for the states in less than a week. I am really excited. I really love Christmas time at home and I cant imagine spending it anywhere else. No matter where I am in the world I feel like Christmas is something that has to be spent in my warm house with all the Christmas decorations my mom has carefully laid out and the presents under the tree my parents spent hours wrapping. Nothing will every change that.

This may be a case of you-always-want-what-you-cant-have, but it doesn’t feel quite like winter yet. I understand the weirdness of this statement coming from a native Californian and I am not sure if living in France has corrupted me, but I want snow and I want to be freezing when walking around Christmas markets. Yes, hot wine and raclette sandwiches are always delicious but having the weather in the one digit range magnifies that amazingness of it all.

I know that as soon as it actually gets cold I probably will complain. Last year I thought I was going to freeze to death. It started snowing before Thanksgiving and most of my friends had trouble getting home for Christmas because the huge snow storm forced airlines to cancel most of their flights. But bundling up in over four layers of clothes and still losing feeling in your fingers, toes, and nose seems to be part of the experience.

Nay and I did a serious amount of Christmas markets this weekend. They were of course enjoyable but I couldn’t help but reminiscence of last year’s experience. It was my first time living somewhere with snow and my first real winter. It was also my first Christmas market. It was the afternoon but Paris was already gray so the lights brilliantly illuminated from all of the stalls. The Champs Elysees was glowing and there was a strong smell of spices in the air from the various stands selling hot wine. People packed the sidewalks trying to maneuver and find the perfect gift… or perfect snack! I stared down the Champs in awe as a light snow began to fall. It was one of those moments I knew I would never forget. I will always remember how happy I was right then. It was one of those moments I fell in love with Paris again.

On the other hand, I really love that I have things to look forward too. Of course nothing tops the first experience of it all but I love that I can get excited for things happening again this year. I also value that Paris and I have moved in to a more mature relationship. And speaking of which the only French thing I believe I will have a relationship with. Not to generalize, but through investigative research I have decided that Cocos and Frenchies don’t mix. This puts a smile on my parents’ faces because then I won’t be sucked into the French black hole and never leave. However, there are plenty of non-Frenchmen here so there is still the possibility… (sorry parentals!) It’s not like Frenchmen are horrible creatures and I can’t explain exactly what it is, but I am pretty positive my heart is going to choose a man from another country. No offense.

Christmas markets and my views on Frenchmen. There you have it. A few minutes in my brain.